List of Philippine Folk Dance

Finding a comprehensive list of Philippine folk dance is very easy in the age of the internet. In fact, it's less a matter of finding one as choosing which one you'd like to read through, and how detailed you want it.

Search Engines

Checking Google or some other search engine will get you a list of Philippine folk dance results that goes on for hundreds of pages. This is because there has been a diaspora from the island nation and its culture has spread. This includes cultural dances, and whether trying to keep the next generation of Filipino children in touch with their roots or sharing the dance with new audiences, the demand for information is immense.

This is also because, for such a small island nation, there is a vast breadth and depth to their dance tradition. Having been colonized and conquered by several vastly different cultures, the dance forms in the Philippines range from the tribal marriage dance "The Flight of the Idaw" to the historical reenactment of the maglalatik and the sophisticated elegance of the Maria Clara dances. Hobbyists and scholars alike love to study the dances.

A Shallow or Deep List of Philippine Folk Dances

One website with information about Philippine folk dances is Campers Point, a Philippine travel website that gives a broad introduction to the history of dance in the islands, including various influences such as:

• European (especially Spanish) colonists
• Native tribes with various ethnic traditions
• Moorish influences from the Middle East
• Modern Western dances from military establishments

After this, the site lists many of the dances one after another, often with images to illustrate the moves or costumes. The coconuts worn by the Maglalatik dancers in their reenactment of the conflict between the Moros and the Christians are shown, as are a couple of cute kids jumping over the bamboo poles in the Tinikling. The elegant dresses worn by the ladies in La Jota Manileña are illustrated as well.

Each dance has a short paragraph describing what the tourists might see, or at what kind of festival they might do that kind of dance. However, the dances are not really described in relation to each other, or in more than general terms.

Going Deeper

Another way to learn about the finer details of Philippine dance is a site with the unlikely name of Now What, Cat?, which, in the great blogging tradition of the Internet, has a very comprehensive listing of various dances from the Philippine tradition. This large amount of information is neatly arranged into categories, histories, and often pictures, video samples, and instructions for performing the dance.

At the Now What, Cat? page you can see that there are a few distinct categories of Philippine dance:

• Maria Clara Dances – Characterized by costumes and steps based on European social dances, especially those like Flamenco and Tango from Spain. Women's skirts are usually flowing and a part of the dance itself.
• Mountai (Igorot) Dances – From the northern mountain regions come ethnic dances, usually the oldest forms of movement that come from the indigenous pre-Colonial tribes.
• Muslim Dances – The Singkil, Sagayan, and Pangalay are all examples of the dances still performed from the Moorish conquest.
• Rural (Barrio) Dances – Featuring feats of balance such as jars of oil on the head, these graceful and joyous dances celebrate a happiness found in everyday life.

While some of the links do not actually go to any useful information, most of them illustrate the subject well. Of course, any facts should be checked, like any other information found on the Internet.

Going Commercial

A last source for a good list would be purchasing a DvD on Philippine folk dance, such as the 16 Best Philippine Folk Dances at Kabayan Central. These are designed to be instructional, but should not be considered a substitute for hands-on, in-person dance instruction.

Whatever the source, Philippine dance has a lot to offer anyone with a love of the movement arts.

• Photos of Ballet Dancers
• Dance Studio Equipment
• Pictures of Limbo Dancing

• Dance Steps to Thriller
• Popular Line Dances
• Famous Choreographers
• Country Line Dance Steps
• Famous Ballet Dancers

• Main Page
• Filipino Folk Dance Steps
• Category:Types of Dance